3S Feeback From Users

I want to aks my users for their feedback on the 3S Trap Shooting Software. I want both pro and con comments for I can update my web site with the new feedback. The ones there now are kind of old and I want new feeback from my users. I will post both pro and con on the web site.

I apologize ahead of time if this is not related to your product. I'm not sure if the leaderboard function is part of 3S or an outside application.

Is there any way to have a true leader board show up on the monitors instead of listing every single shooter entered in the event by class and category? I've seen this at shoots running 3S where you have to wait for every class and every category to go through every single shooter entered. Seems it would be preferable to show only two screens of names for each, instead of everyone.

I am working on a enhacnment to the scores display the will allow the user to tell the system how many of the top scores to display. I agree with you that when you have the scroll function enabled it is not really necessary to show ALL of the scores. Although from a cashiering standpoint it really helps when and if a mistake is made in inputting the scores as the shooter who thought he broke a 97 shows up on the screen with a 96. They are immediatly to the counter to look at the score sheet to see if we made a mistake or did he miscount.

I think the program is basically OK, better than anything I've seen out there. However, there are always places to tweak it out, depending on the benefit vs the time & cost incurred for the change. I would think there may be two camps of opinions. There are the large shoots, and then the small clubs. I would think the majority of the users are clubs with 30 to 75 shooters. I could be wrong, just my opinion. Each has their own needs.

At our club, from May though October we get anywhere from 40 to 60 shooters at our monthly ATA shoots. So my comments are from the perspective of a smaller club. I find the only time I see room for improvement is when a situation occurs.

The most common (at our club) is when there are not enough shooters in a particular option. Let's say we have a "Yardage Purse" in the handicap. Generally, we stipulate that there should be at least three shooters in a yardage group. Otherwise we refund the shooters' money. It would be nice to have a box where you could elect this. Then if there are one or two shooters, the program could automatically refund the money. Right now, you must see how many, then manipulate the program to refund if not enough shooters.

Another common situation occurs in dealing with options. Let's say we're dealing with the 50's ($15 option fee), three 50's in the handicap. Assume we have three entries, and let's say that they all tie in the middle 50's. If I recall, the program will allocate 60% of $15 to the three shooters, or $3 to each for a total of $9. This requires looking at the money payout real close. I don't know if there is a easy fix for this, within the program. Food for thought.

Another area is trying to make the program a little more error proof. I'm always trying to teach someone the program. Usually it's entering shooters, scores & printing scoresheets. We use the manual squadding mode. After you enter the shooter's ATA number, it takes you to the "Shooter Event Information Program - MANUAL SQUADDING MODE". Two things here.

The program automatically takes you to the "Singles" box. I have people wanting to enter a squad number & post when getting to this page, without looking where they are at. So a squad number & post could, and has appeared in the "Singles" box. I only noticed this when I was reconciling the total number of shooters on the Trophy Report against the "Shooter Menu - Options Played". The Trophy Report showed 45 shooters. When I totaled the shooters by class in the "Options Played", I got 44 shooters. We use the number of shooters by class to pay out added money.

So, would it be possible to have the classification boxes accept ONLY alpha letters in Singles & Doubles? Same thing with the yardage, accept only NUMERIC characters?

Finally, on the "Shooter Event Information Program - MANUAL SQUADDING MODE" page, the EDIT button seems to be in an awkward place, lower right. The inclination is to be in the upper left to enter the squad positions & options played.

OK, I'm done. But, if none of the above ever changes, I'd still use the program over anything else.

I am sure that George will tell you how to avoid your first problem. I can tell you that there is indeed a way to get around the probelm of not enough shooters in the yardage purse)or whatever) I have doen this but I simply can't recall the steps taken off the top of my head. It is simple to do, I can tell you that.

To your second problem, I would suggest you switch to computer squadding. Whether you manually enter the shooters ATA # or use a card reader, you are taken through each step quickly. Honestly, I have never used the manual squadding setting so I don't know how that method works.

As for your dilemma in figuring the 50's, that is simple. When you set up the options table and when you run it to figure it, there is a box to check high gun, if you are trying to pay only the top score. You just click on the percentage box and it will change to high gun.

For George,

I love the system and you have ALWAYS been at your phone when I have called and fixed problems quickly. This year alone you helped me out at least 5 times. We had just networked the program and there were a couple of bugs to work out.

Sometimes, as great as this program is, it seems there are too many "layers" in the program. Perhaps that is due to the fact that your program takes care of EVERYTHING needed but someitmes, it is hard to recall all the steps to accomplish something. It is a rather daunting program to learn and learn how to use efficiently. It took me at least two years until I felt I knew it well and I am still learning something new almost every time I use it.

I found it quite helpful to write up a step-by-step "manual" for the others who help at the shoot desk. It helps me a lot too. I only covered the things we do at our shoots. Especially the way to run the options for the computer to figure them and only the options we run.

Tim, do print out the event "Cheat Sheet". Setup Menu #8, this report shows what is needed for each event and shows what reports you need to run at the end of the event, last event of the day and finally at the end of the tournament. This my bible that I use when doing a shoot. As I run each payoff and report I check them off so when the event, day, or tournament is over you know that you have done everything needed for the tournament.

Your telephone support makes the software the very best out there. Your "Cheat Sheet" really helps when training new people. It just gets better and better with every upgrade.

However, I would like to see you add a special section where we could use the software for club shoots without making up phony numbers and addresses for the participants because most of them are not ATA members.

George, it would be easy enough to just call you with the following, but perhaps others may be interested too.

At our recently completed Gun Shoot, the final handicap had two Lewis purses, one just like we had for the other events, and a second one with a big entry/big payoff celebrating the 25th anniversary of the Gun Shoot. Lorenzo Delcurtio was cashiering the shoot on our system, and told me that your program does not allow two different Lewis purses on the same event. He worked it out, but I was busy paying off trap kids and the like, and did not see how he did it.

Next year is our turn to host the Idaho State Shoot again, and it occurs to me that on several events the State includes two Lewis purses, one regular one, and a second benefiting the Idaho Hall of Fame. This must occur in other shoots also (regular plus Hall of Fame Lewis) - how do you handle it?

A second issue for our State Shoot is the last two handicaps have Ford purses with all shooters entered at no cost, and some State added money distributed to the "winners". I suppose one could put in a Ford purse with $0 entry fee, and make sure everyone is entered, then add the money manually like we do buyers in the special event, but is there a better way?

Let me chime in with the comments above. No other program is even close to yours, and the support can't be beat.

You can have as many as 4 Lewis options on each 100 event, Std Lewis, Other Lewis, State HOF Lewis and ATA HOF Lewis. You just need to check to correct radio button when running the lewis to make sure the money goes into the correct Lewis payoff bucket in the payoff file. If you have a 200 target event you can only have one "OTHER LEWIS". This is the bucket that holds the money for the total 200 targets.